I don't even know where to start. There's so much to say about these knives :-)

I couldn't find them locally or online in time for Christmas, so I ordered direct from Mr Menefee, and he was both efficient and delightful to correspond with. It's always a joy to be "in touch" with inventors who love their work :-)

I think many of the criticisms that have been voiced here are accurate... I'm just not sure they're relevant <LOL!> Some of them sound like the culinary equivalent of looking at a Volkswagen and expecting it to be a Mercedes... or a Kia... That just... isn't what the Sabers are *for*, folks! <LOL!> They're not luxury items, and they're not dollar-store-throw-aways. They're good knives, and reasonably priced. Period.

Of course these are not the knives for everyone, they were never meant to be. They were meant to satisfy a specific, under-served niche in the market. I have no idea if they serve the intended market well or not, because I'm not it <LOL!> I'm a suburban minivan-mommy with three kids.

And I freaking LOVE this knife-and-block set.

With a family of 5, and two or three really expensive "good knives", you don't get much help in the kitchen. It's too inconvenient and intimidating.

With a generous set of awesome, sharp, well-balanced and designed knives that just beg to be used, you get people CLAMORING to help.
Put a price tag on *that*, I dare you! :-)

We've eaten more home-cooked meals since Christmas than we did for the last 6 MONTHS. No exaggeration. Because suddenly it is FUN to do the prep work again.

The main points that I would like to convey about these knives are obviously from a family/mommy perspective. But I don't see people expressing that perspective much, so here goes:

0. They're fun to use. Not annoying, finicky, or temperamental.
1. There are enough knives to go around a large family and let everyone help.
2. There are enough knives of different shapes and sizes to suit different hands and different tasks.
3. The knives have weight, substance, and enough polish to clearly announce themselves as "good knives", not "junk"
4. Despite being "good knives", they are not so expensive that dad has a heart attack when one gets run through the dishwasher or used to cut on a glass plate. He can philosophically comment "That's not how we treat the good knives, sweetie, it dulls them - here's how we fix that up again." and grab the steel to show 'em how it's done.
5. The knife block just plain rocks. It is the best knife block ever.
We have overhanging cabinets, but we just spin the rack until the desired handle protrudes from under the cabinet. Never even gave it a thought. The blades do not touch the block unless you try very hard, and the extra slots and spaces are extremely useful We've put aside two now-unneeded counter-top utensil containers because things fit so nicely in the Saber block.

I cannot BEGIN to stress enough how valuable it is, as a family who wishes to pass the love of good food, good cooking, good tools, and good relationships on to our children, to have tools that we can actually *afford* to teach our children to USE. Spending more money on individual knives to save money over this "set" would not achieve any of the goals *we* personally had (see above points).

If it weren't for the fact that the affordability was the point here, I'd say they were priceless <grin>.

But truly, their value is not counted in dollars, not by me, at least.
My kids have participated in meal prep voluntarily, and we've eaten and *enjoyed* creating home-cooked meals together almost every day since Christmas, and we just haven't ever done that before. We'd devolved into a convenience-food rut that really sucked. We even got a new crock pot just so we can have an excuse to cut up more veggies together ;-p

I just couldn't be happier with them.

As for my husband, who is the one who got them as a Christmas gift; well, he doesn't have much to say.
He's the quiet type.

But he hasn't griped once about anything to do with their form, function, or value. And he's in the kitchen, having fun with the kids again.
And for me, that says it all.

I just remembered about reading this article and promising myself that I'm going to get them when they become available, and what do you know? Costco is having the $199 deal again! ("through December 12, 2010. While supplies last.") Got myself a Christmas present http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11588912

I just received the chef bag set today and so far I am very pleased from the limited testing I have done with it.

My next question since I would like a beautiful way to store these at home as well - does anyone know if there is a way to purchase the triangle block alone? I love the design but for me getting the specific knives in the bag set with the bag for versatility was the better fit...

My next question since I would like a beautiful way to store these at home as well - does anyone know if there is a way to purchase the triangle block alone? I love the design but for me getting the specific knives in the bag set with the bag for versatility was the better fit...

Keep a look out on the Saber Knives website. The latest update from Saber Knives is that they plan on adding the knife block to be sold on the website directly. I'm not sure when this will happen, so keep checking once in a while.

I love working in my kitchen. It is an extension of my childhood, from when my sister and I worked along side our mom, in her kitchen. She showed us how to prepare food for large family style meals and how to bake for birthdays and holidays. The last few years, I've been noticing fatigue and cramping in my hand, while chopping and preparing food, so I've decided to upgrade my kitchen knives, in order to make it a bit easier for me.

Over the years, I have acquired a few knives that have served me well but this is the first time I have allowed myself to become serious about finding and purchasing good knives. Searching kitchen knife reviews led me to Cooking For Engineers. The first article I read was Chef's Knives Rated. I've been price checking and comparing the MAC MTH-80 Mighty Chef to other chef knives for over a while now...They cost more since the article was written...Even so, I am tempted to purchase one, but I would still need more knives. Would you put together and share with me, a mix and match knife (make/model/size/cost) ensemble (paring/boning/utility/santoku/chef/bread/carver/cleaver) that you think would make up a good variety of knives to have on hand in the kitchen? I surely would appreciate it.

After trying to wrap my head around the cost of the new knives I would like to own, I'd be lying if I said that this Saber Kitchen Knives article didn't make me happy and excited. They do appear to be a great cost saving value and the reviews are stellar. I read that Saber uses German stainless steel X45CrMoV15, while the high end German (more expensive) competitors use X50CrMoV15 or X55CrMoV15. What do the numbers 45, 50 and 55 mean? What does it mean in terms of steel quality, stain resistance and durability for long term use comparisons?

Can you recommended any home knife sharpeners for MAC/Japanese knives or Saber/German knives?

My advice comes from the opposite end: do everything you can not to dull them!

Never, ever use a sharp knife on anything harder than maple, and even that's stretching it a bit.

Soft cutting boards (even wet wood is softer than dry)

No sawing through bone with a chef's knife when another tool would be better suited to the job.

Dry immediately after use. Sharpness is a microscopic function, and water + metal equals corrosion, no matter how "stainless" the steel.

Until you know your tools intimately -- which may take a few years, find a good, reliable knife sharpener and visit him regularly and keep asking why your knives don't stay sharp. Ask HIM for advice! If he's any good he'll tell you why, and what any good doctor would: "I hope I don't see you for a long, long time!"

So just like the guy a few days ago asked, i have been looking for new knives.. was just going to buy some individually but in general this set looks strong.

You dont typically write reviews like this one, where you give it so many points without the cons. Do you think that this set is strong enough of its own or would you prefer some of the blades and then mix and match with other individual blades you find in your other reviews?

Basically i would really like you to answer the guys question from like 2 days ago.

You dont typically write reviews like this one, where you give it so many points without the cons. Do you think that this set is strong enough of its own or would you prefer some of the blades and then mix and match with other individual blades you find in your other reviews?

Most of the cons will be related to how the knife feels in your hand or if the curvature of the blade will suit you. That's true for each knife in the set. For that reason I use a variety of different knives. I still use a Mac MTH-80 for my chef's knife, a Forschner for my boning, a Shun for my paring...

The Saber set is a very strong set (performing as well or better than my Henckels and Wusthof blades) - it's good all around, but it's unlikely that any particular knife set will have the best chef's, bread, paring, boning, etc. knife for you. At this price, though, I think it's one of the best values you can find in today's marketplace.

If you're want the best individual pieces for you, then it's going to be a long process that involves trying and buying a lot of knives to piece together the set you will use. Along the way, you'll end up with a bunch of extra pieces that just didn't feel right after a few weeks, etc. I think it might make sense to get a set of Saber Knives as a starting point since most of your cutting needs will be met by them and then if you don't like a particular piece, replace it with something you do like better in the future. If you end up liking all the pieces, then your search is over. Unfortunately, once a reviewer confirms a certain level of quality and performance has been reached, the individual buyer needs to pick from all the ones the reviewers like to see what is best for him. Are you hands, fingers, arms, table setup, etc. more similar to mine or another reviewers? All these variables play into whether or not you'll find the use of the knife pleasurable and comfortable.

if you buy a decent set of knives in terms of overall construction and metals, the only thing left is how the handle fits your hand and whether you are comfortable with the blade geometry.

translations:

good construction = full tang; 2-3 rivets on the handle; bolster if you want one.

metals: Chinese lead knives just don't hold an edge. cheap knives usually are not made from high quality steel.

steel: take your pick - the classic carbon steel knives that will discolor and patina or stainless. don't get hung up on Brand X has a Rockwell C hardness that is 1.1435632 more that Brand Y - in practice it doesn't make a difference.

the handle: they're all different. whether the handle feels right in your hand is something only you can judge.

blade geometry: a chef's knife is not a chef's knife. there is no ISO documents that describes how long, how much belly, where the belly starts, etc., a chef's knife should have.

geometry gets more important as you move into different "general styles" - for example the santuko - same lengths available as for chef's knives, but the blade shape is flatter. too flat, not flat enough, maybe a cleaver style? absolutely impossible to 'predict' - those are things you need to decide based on your own use and habits.

here's a good approach - pick out the sizes & styles you think you are interested in. go the five&dime and buy a cheap knife with the handle & geometry that appeals. check it out. you should expect that it will not hold an edge all too long (that's the cheap metal thing) - but it will give you some cheap, up close and personal experience you can use when you decide to plunk down more cash.

Hello i am from Canada, I was looking into these amazing knives for culinary school and was dissapointed when i found out that i couldnt get it through amazon or costco b.c i live in Canada. So i went to the Saber knive website emailed the company, checked my emails later that night and Rich himself CEO emailed back saying he is working on geting it in canada at costco on the website. He then offered to ship the knive set to me himself. I mean how great is that. A week later and $300 later (thats including shipping and boarder fee) i have my set and absolutely love them.